Many people perceive God as an almighty being. In Exodus 15, the supporters of God illustrate great praise and faith in their lord and savior. Throughout this passage, first person singers exclaim their beliefs and loyalty to their God. They speak of the many tales that are told, the love that can be brought to God’s supporters, as well as the misfortune that can be brought upon the disbelievers. In Exodus 15, the writer employs powerful language, vivid imagery, and fear in order to highlight to its readers why God should be praised. In the song, the believers in God exclaim that they “will sing to the Lord” (Exodus, 15:1; NRSV) illustrating that God is a superior being to the mere man. As Moses and the Israelites proclaim that this song is …show more content…
Moses and the Israelites refer to god as a warrior, a majesty, a bringer of holiness showing the reader the intense glorification of God and the strength that he has. He is compared to other gods, but none are are “like him” - so majestic and holy (Exodus 15:11; NRSV). Many believers in God suggest that “The Lord is [their] strength and [their] might, and… has become [their] salvation” (Exodus, 15:2, NRSV) meaning that these supporters need nothing other than the willpower and love from God in order to survive. This statement employs slight exaggeration to get its point across - that love, mercy, and support from God is all that a person needs to be happy and saved from the impurities of the world. The word “right” takes on a great responsibility in this hymn - as the “right hand” of God must encompass all of the “glorious power” (Exodus 15:6; NRSV) that God possesses and shows his correctness, precision, and skill when completing …show more content…
God encounters an enemy once who claims he will “pursue and overtake” his land, and in response god immerses his foe in the “mighty” waters by blowing his wind (Exodus 15:9-10; NRSV). His ability to “swallow,” “sink” and “melt” his enemies - chiefs, leaders, and inhabitants - depicts his great control over every aspect of Earth. He controls all of the natural forces in the world to bring both pleasure and suffering. Through this portrayal of disaster, a fear tactic is employed in order to gain support from those that oppose God. They see that their lives will be filled with “terror and dread” when they could feel a “steadfast love” from God that will guide them to salvation (Exodus 15:13,16; NRSV). God’s followers receive an unconditional and immeasurable love from him. As both the “horse and rider [are] thrown into the sea,” (Exodus 15:1, NRSV) God’s followers must maintain great faith and trust that he will not let them down. The Lord goes to great lengths to fend for those who maintain faith in him - turning his foes into stone so that his followers can pass through to this “abode” on a mountain that he constructs. This “sanctuary” is the holy city of Jerusalem, and God’s mission is to give his patrons a place of eternal salvation - a place where he will “reign forever and ever” (Exodus 15:17-18; NRSV) and protect his supporters. By building this city with his own two
Many authors have employed the religious beliefs of their cultures in literature. The deities contained in Homer’s Odyssey and in the Biblical book of Exodus reflect the nature of the gods in their respective societies. Upon examination of these two works, there are three major areas where the gods of the Greek epic seem to directly contrast the nature of the God of the Israelites: the way problems are solved, the prestige and status that separates the divine from the masses, and the extent of power among the immortal beings.
In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.
Amos, in vision, saw the Lord standing upon the altar at Bethel. God has come for one thing and one thing alone, judgment. There is no escaping the Lord now, for wherever he stands, one can be seen. YHWH has an inescapable presence. Those whom he opposes can find no shelter; wherever they go, his eyes will follow. Wherever sinners flee from YHWH’s justice, it will overtake them. Not only does God have an inescapable presence, he also has the power to do virtually anything imaginable with the Earth. As mentioned in Amos 9:5-6: “The Lord, the LORD Almighty, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who live in it mourn—the whole land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt—he who builds his lofty palace in the heavens and sets its foundation on the Earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land—the LORD is his name.” Those whom sin or rebel against God will seek an unwanted response. Whether that unwanted resonse be an earthquake, volcano or any other natural disaster. If one is respectful of YHWH they will be respected back in turn and will someday be brought to heaven. Those whom God brings to heaven by his grace, shall never be cast down; but those who seek to climb up by vain confidence in themselves, will be cast down and filled with shame and embarrassment. That which makes escape impossible. YHWH will set his eyes upon them for evil, not for good. If one is honestly sin-free they will someday find heaven but as for those whom have sinned and then turn around and to try and make it up to the Lord, they will never seek his approval therefore not resorting to heaven.
The Nephilim or “Giants” is a subject that is not brought up in the typical Sunday morning service at a church pulpit, this is because it causes a strong reaction in people. Despite the strangeness of this topic, it is something that should be investigated. In this essay we will learn more about the Nephilim or “Giants”, and we will carefully examine the scriptures fo...
Throughout the Bible God can be represented in a number of different ways. In some chapters of the Bible God can be found to be a compassionate, loving God, who would do anything for his people. To contradict this, in other chapters of the Bible God can be found trying to instill fear into people so that they believe in him, or do what he wants of them. In both instances it shows how different God can be seen and why believers can have doubts about how God really is.
...hat God was trying to disclose with Moses. God wanted Moses to know Him and who He was through His name. He is not an unloving god who watches over his children and does nothing when they suffer. He is not a god that ignores old promises. He is an omnipresent God that helps his children and doesn’t break a covenant. God allows himself to be known by his people because he is a devoted god. He is, has been, and always will be our god.
Moses, the man upon whom God built the nation of Israel, brought his people out of the land of Egypt. By God’s power, he divided the waters of the Red Sea. By God’s power, summoned manna in the wilderness. By God’s power, he led the Israelites despite their obstinate attitudes. He is a greatly respected patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike. But, imagine his legacy to be non-existent. Imagine that he died under the will of the God who sent him. Exodus 4:24-26 is brief story that nearly describes such a scenario. This exegetical study will partake in an attempt to better understand Exodus 4:24-26 through examining its historical and literary context and looking into the scholarly opinions about the topic. The proposal this paper will make is that God is in control of everything. Though He had just called Moses to rescue the nation of Israel, He shows Moses and family his complete sovereignty.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God , "The God that holds you over the
Many people know the Christian God as happy, forgiving, and accepting of others. In the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards’ sermon completely shocks and scares people by claiming that the Christian God is the only God, and if you weren’t to believe in him, you would burn in Hell and be destroyed. The tone of this piece in the eyes of Edwards is dedicated, passionate, and pro-Christian God. Edward achieves his purpose by using metaphors, repetition, personification, and visual imagery numerously throughout the sermon.
All biblical stories are dedicated in providing a life lesson. They are God’s ways in teaching His people on how they should behave and how to better their relationships with Him. In addition, the accounts also give insight to characteristics and truths of God. The lives of numerous biblical characters serve as archetypes that affirm the fact that God is the sovereign Creator, the supreme Judge, and the merciful Savior.
The Book of Exodus begins hundreds of years later once Joseph and his brothers have all died. This leaves a void in leadership over Israel and is eventually subdued to Moses. He is a Hebrew boy who starts off as a slave, and eventually encounters God through the burning bush where he is convinced to assume his role as leader of the Israelites. With the help of his brother Aaron, they face controversy with the Pharaoh of Egypt trying to rid their people and lead them to a land full of prosperity, which God has promised. It is through Moses leadership that they find freedom and religious conformity as a community. Although Moses is initially timid, he consequently develops the willpower of a traditional hero through attaining a personal relationship with God and his people through the breaking of the clay tablets along with using the power God has given him through his staff to intimidate the Pharaoh and shows his urgency and pride as leader of a great nation.
I'm reminded of a religious story of David and Goliath. This is one of the greatest heroic battles that David had to fight in his life, summoning why most heroes are patterned after this battle. The timeless truth if this battle suggests that it's our human experience, that we can relate to the underdog, fighting against a seemingly insurmountabe, fearsome oppenent; summoning the will to fight. These are all the human experiences of which we relate, that is why God included this great event in scripture- because he knew we would all face times like this and learn from the life of David. " How do you Defeat an Overwhelming Enemy?"
In Judaism, God is seen as having a contractual relationship with the Jewish people where they must obey his holy laws in return for their status of the chosen people. God rewards or punishes Jewish people based on whether they obey or disobey his will. In parts of the Old Testament, however, God does show mercy or forgiveness, and in later interpretations God’s laws such as the Ten Commandments are followed not only out of loyalty to God but also because of their high moral character.
... people. It also shows the dependence of people on God. Moses was a man of courage who sought to see the face of the God. He received the laws of the lord and made sacrifices for them when they sinned. Moses acted as a mediator between Yahweh and his people (Woolfe).
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.